US2039686A - Trim panel - Google Patents

Description

May 5, 1936. G. E. GAGNIER TRIM PANEL Filed Oct. 22, 193.?l 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gmc/ww@ Golm/w55 J .fi

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MMWW? May 5, 1936. G. E. GAGNIER v TRIM PANEL Filed Oct. 22, 1932 Patented May 5, 1936 TRIM PANEL George E. Gagnier, Detroit, Mich., assignor of one-half to Bion C. Place, Detroit, Mich.

Application October 22, 1932, Serial No. 639,064

7 Claims. (Cl. 45-138) 'I'his invention relates 'to trim panels for the .interior of automobile bodies or the like. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved trim panel presenting a novel arrangement for securing the fasteners that attach the panel to the supporting structure, and ornamental characteristics of enhanced durability.

Automobile or similar trim panels are now generally applied to -the interior of automobile bodies by means of fasteners that are assembled with respect to the trim panel after the fabric covering, usually associated therewith, has been applied to one face thereof. This arrangement requires the formation of relatively large openings in the body of the panel to permit the pas- Sage of the enlarged heads of the fasteners there.

through so that they can be brought into engagement with the side of the foundation or body that is remote from that which contacts with the supporting structure. The formation of the necessary large fastener receiving openings in the body of the panel has tended to weaken the panel and is regarded as objectionable in some quarters. Furthermore, when the fastener receiving openings are formed through -the body of the panel, and the heads of the fastener are located between the body and the fabric covering so that there is no stiff material to protect the head from direct contact with the fabric covering material, it sometimes happens that the fabric becomes torn or that the heads of the fasteners are exposed through wear of the fabric. This is likewise regarded as objectionable by some persons.

Attempts have been made to overcome the objections to which particular reference has just been made by utilizing metallic strips to reenforce the perforated margins of the body of the panel, and to protect, in various ways, the heads of the fasteners that contact with the covering material. The application of such metallic strips increases the costof production of the panels and, inasmuch as the panels assume various forms. such strips are difficult of application to the foundation or bodies of the panels when they are curved in any part of their outline.

It has also been a common practice in the art vof manufacturing trim panels to emboss or corrugate the body of the panel to give to the completed panel an ornamental effect, the fabric covering, where such is used, being cemented over the raised portions of the body resulting from such embossing or corrugating, so as to provide, in the completed panel, a so-called riser, generally formed in ornamental outline to enhance the appearance of the panel. When the body or foundation of the panel is constructed of cardboard or any suitable fiber board, as is customary, the embossing or corrugating of the panels has a tendency to weaken the fiber board wlhere the corrugations are formed, with the result that when the corrugated panels are subjected to blows, as by the foot of an occupant of the automobile, the corrugation is permanently flattened, thus substantially marring the ap- 10 pearance of the trim panel, and permanently disguring the same.

This invention has for its primary purpose the provision of a trim panel that may be constructed entirely of aber board, but that has the fastener receiving openings formed in such a way that the panel possesses adequate strength adjacent the margins thereof and in which the heads of the fasteners are separated from the fabric that is ordinarily used to cover the panel by a layer of fiber board, and in which the corrugation or embossing of the panel is accomplished in such a way that the panel as a whole is not materially weakened, and so that any riser produced by the corrugating is permanently maintained in elevated condition even if subjected to severe blows tending to flatten it.

Another object of this invention is to prof` duce an automobile trim panel or the like in which the body of the panel is constructed of a plurality of layers of ber board adherently secured together, as by cementingthem in contact with each other at all points, and in which the laminated character of the body of the panel is concealed by turning the edges of the fabric covering around the exposed edges of the several laminations or layers.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automobile trim panel consisting of two layers of relatively thin fiber board, one layer alone being embossed or corrugated to provide, in the completed panel, the desired ornamental riser effect while the other is maintained at and secured to the embossed layer in such a way as to give to the body of the panel the desired stiffness and so that the fiat layer may be utilized t'o stiien the embossed layer at the base of the corrugation by bridging the trough resulting from the formation of the corrugation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved automobile trim panel body consisting4 of two layers, one alone of which is corrugated, and the other of which is utilized to cover y the back of the corrugated layer and form a re- ,osaese perforated adjacent the margins of the panel near which the fastener receiving openings are generally formed so that the fasteners may be disposed as close to the edges of the foundation or panel as possible.

The fastener receiving openings are such as will permit the passage of a headed fastener from the rear of the panel after the usual fabric covering I! has been applied to the front face thereof, l such fabric covering being, as is customary in the art, provided with marginal portions I3 extending beyond the foundation or body, which portions are turned around'the exposed edges of theA several laminations, constituting the body of thepanel, and cemented, or otherwise suitably secured against the rear face of the laminations as illustrated. Preferably, the portions i6 are provided with notches I'I so that said portions .do not cover the fastener openings.

The preferred form of fastener receiving opening is an Vinverted T, including a cross part I8 formed to permit the free passage of the head of the fastener so as to bring said head between the two laminations which are not cemented together at the points at which said openings are formed. A relatively narrow slit I8 extends away from the cross part I8, said slit I8 opening into a slightly enlarged, preferably circular, opening 20 so that the fastener may be inserted by tilting the head slightly to permit it to be passed betweenA the laminations and then moved along the slit i9\ and rotated through degrees in the circular portion 20 of the opening I4 so as to interlock the fastener with respect to the inner lamination.

The fastener receiving openings just described may be utilized with fasteners of varying types though they are specially designed for use with a one piece snap fastener constructed from a single strip of wire by bending the mid-portion thereof to form the head 2I of the fastener and by bending the ends of the wire to form the shank 22 thereof, such a fastener being fully described in Patent 1,679,266, granted July 31, 1928. The mode of application of such fastener to the openings illustrated in the drawings is likewise fully described in Patent 1,722,944, granted July 30, 1929, to which reference may be had for a full description.

The method of constructing the trim panel in accordance with the present invention will, itis believed, be obvious from the description of the component parts thereof and by reference to the several patents just referred to. In the completed construction the layer I8 of the foundation or body is disposed between the fabric I5 and the head 2I of the fastener, and the inner layer II, which is alone perforated for the passage of the fastener, in cooperation with the unperforated layer I0 provides a stiff construction adjacent the margins of the panel having the requisite strength and stiffness at the margins of the completed panel where the greater strength is required in view of the fact that the fasteners are applied thereto. The layer II may'be secured to the layer I0 between the points at which the fasteners are applied, thus enhancing the stiffness of the construction. It will be observed further that the riser 23 appearing in the completed panel cannot'be crushed, even if subjected to severe blows, because the wire or strip I3 serves to positively space the elevated portion of the riser from the layer Il, such wire or strip serving to stiifen and strengthen the panel in both directions since the risers usually extend transversely as well as longitudinally of the panel.

If desired, the inner layer II of the panel may be stiffened adjacent the margins thereof at which the fastener receiving'openings are formed therein.- Preferably, this is y accomplished by applying metal reenforcing means to the layer i I, preferably on the inside thereof, so that when said layer is adherently secured to the outer layer Iii, the reenforcement is concealed from view. The reenforcing means may take the form of sheet metallic strips 24 and 25, each of which is provided with openings 28 punched at spaced points along the edges of the several strips so as to provide tongues 21 that may be driven through the brous material II and clenched against Athe outside as indicated at 28, thus securing the strips firmly to each layer at all points along the length thereof. Preferably they strip 25 is applied so that it parallels the row of fastener receiving openings but sothat none of said openings intersect the strip. yStrip 24, however, is preferably applied so that the portions I9 and 20 of the fastener receiving openings intersect the strip, thus greatly strengthening the inner layer or laminations II and preventing the fasteners from being pulled through said layer. The metallic reenforcing means for the inner layer of the panel may assume any other desired form and may, if preferred, be applied to the outside rather l than between the laminations as above described.

If desired, use may be made of a strip of thin sheet metal to serve as the means for anchoring the fasteners Ithereto, when it is desired to avoid increasing the thickness of the panel adjacent the margins thereof at the isolated pointsat which the fasteners are applied. When this arrangement is desired, a sheet metal strip 29 may be applied to the edge of a lamination 30 constructed of relatively thin fiber board. The strip 29 preferably is applied so as to straddle the edge of said lamination, providing a portion 3| lapping one side of the lamination, and a portion 32 lapping the other side thereof. Prior to the application of the binding, the laminat-ion 381s provided with openings 33 of a size suiiiciently'large to receive the heads of the fastener when in operative position and to permit the fastener to be applied and interlocked with respect to the portion 32 of the metal binder by means of a slot 34 including a relatively narrowslit 35 and an enlarged opening 36 communicating therewith. The binder may be secured to the. lamination 30 in-any approver-l manner as by means of prongs struck from'the portion 32 by forming the openings 31 therein, the

metal formerly filling said openings being utilized to form the prongs.

The binder 29 is made of a width suiiiciently narrow so that it does not completely cover the opening 33 formed in the lamination, so as to provide a narrow elongated opening permittingr the passage of the head of a fastener into the opening 33 as illustrated. In associating a fastener such as illustrated in my Patent 1,679,266, above referred to with the lamination just described, the head 38 of the fastener is engaged beneath the edge of the portion 32 of the binder where it laps the opening 33 of the lamination, and the fastener is shifted in position so that the shank thereof may be passed through the slit 35 of the opening 34. until the shank is brought into disposed entirely between the inner and outer surfaces of the lamination 30.

While the metallic binder 29 has been illustrated as having substantial thickness, for the purpose of clarity of illustration in the drawings, it` should be understood that the metal selected for this purpose would be very thin so that the edge of the lamination to which the binder is applied is not materially thickened by the application thereto of such binder. However, any increased thickness of the edges of the laminations resulting from the application of the binder is uniform at every point along the margin of the laminations.

When it is desired to use a fastener having a hook-like head, the arrangement illustrated in Figures 9, 10 and 11 may be employed in which the binder 29, applied to the lamination 30, is unperforated except for the formation of the openings 3l formed therein in order to provide theA prongs by which the binder may be attached to the laminations. Said binder is applied so as to only partially cover the openings 33 in the manner above described with reference to Figures 7 and 8. This arrangement is adapted to receive fasteners including a hook-like head 39 and a shank 40 consisting of two legs that are bowed outwardly between the head of the fastener and the tip of the shank as indicated at 4| and 42. Preferably the fastener is constructed from a single piece of wire by return bending the mid-portion of the wire and then bending that portion into the form of a hook. The ends of the wire are then turned at right anglesto the hook to provide the legsponstituting the shank 40 of the fastener. Such a fastener as just described can be applied to the lamination by hooking the head upon the portion 32 that laps the opening 33 in the lamination by passing the outer arm through the narrow slot left by virtue of the fact that the portion 32 does not completely cover the opening 33 in the lamination.

While a binder has been illustrated that laps both sid-es of the lamination and that is intended to extend along all of the edges thereof, it should be understood, however, that the metallic anchorage for thefasteners may be provided by securing separate strips of metal to the lamination that may only partially cover one or both sides of the lamination and that do not extend entirely along the .edges thereof as illustrated in Patent #1,904,076. It is only essential that the metallic anchorage for the fastener lap the openings 33 in the laminations so as to permit the head to be passed to the rear of 'the metallic anchorage, and so that the thickness of the head is disposed between the inner and outer surfaces of the lamination as illustrated in Patent #1,904,077.

The lamination 30 provided with the metallic fastener anchoring means of the character just described may be used in association with other laminations to complete the panel. For instance, the lamination 30 may be used as illustrated in Figure 12 of the drawings in which the lamination 3D provided with the metallic reenfcrcement 29 applied as just described, may be adhesively secured to a second lamination 43 which may be entirely unperforated. A fabric covering of suitable finishing material 44 covers the unperforated layer 43 and is lapped around the edges of the panel and secured as by a suitable cement or binder to the rear edges of the panel as indicated at 45, thus concealing the edges of the several laminations of which the panel is composed.

It will be readily understood that vthe panel may be completed in the form illustrated in Figure 12 prior to the application of the fasteners, and that, in fact, it is the intended mode of use of the panel illustrated in this figure to apply the fasteners. after the panel has been completely constructed in the fonn illustrated, the fasteners being subsequently associated with respect to the binder 23 applied to the lamination 30 in a manner just described with reference to Figures 'I and 8 or with reference to Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11.v

If desired, the panel illustrated in Figure 12 may include a third lamination 4B provided with an opening 41 that registers with the opening 33 in the lamination 30, thus providing a panel construction consisting of three laminations of fiber board and a, metallic strip constituting the means for anchoring the fastener to the panel. This arrangement provides a panel structure of great strength and rigidity, and when a fastener having a hook-like head of the kind illustrated in Figures 9, 10 and 11 is used, it will be understood that the outer part of the hook is disposed within the opening 41 while the inner part of the hook is disposed in the opening 33 of the lamination 30, so that substantially the entire thickness of thehead of the fastener is located bev tween the outer planes that bound the intermediate lamination and the inner lamination, so that the thickness of the panel is not increased by the thickness of the head of thefastener that is engaged therewith.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential rcharacteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be securedl byV United States Letters Patent is:-

l. A trim panel consisting of a layer of relatively stiff fibrous material embossed to secure ornamentation, and a second unembossed layer of relatively stiff fibrous material adherently secured to said ilrst named layer so as to bridge the depressions formed by the embossing thereof so as to resist flattening of the embossed layer and a cover of flexible material for one face of said panel lapping the edges of said layers.

2. A trim panel comprising a sheet of relatively stiff fibrous material corrugated to secure'ornamentation, a reenforcing strip disposed inthe channel formed by the corrugation, relatively stiff material adherently secured to said sheet so as to bridge said channel and retain said strip therein and a fabric cover for the exposed face of said sheet.

3. A trim panel comprising a sheet of relatively stii fibrous material corrugated to secure ornamentation, a reenforcing strip disposed in the channel formed by the corrugation, and a second sheet of relatively stiff fibrous material coextensive with and adherently secured to said first named sheet so as to bridge said channel, retain said strip therein and stiiien said first named sheet at all points.

4. A trim' panel comprising two layers of fibrous material, fastener receiving openings in one of said layers, corrugations in the other layer, said layers being secured together so that the fastener openings are out of registry with the corrugations whereby each layer strengthens the other where weakened by the formation of said openings or by said corrugations.

5. A trim panel comprising a relatively stiff fibrous layer provided with a riser in the form of a corrugation pressed therein, a reenforcing strip in said corrugation, and a second layer of stiff fibrous material to retain said strip in said corrugation. y

6. A trim panel foundation consisting of a layer of relatively stiff fibrous material embossed to secure ornamentation, a second layer of relato said rst named layer and having at portions bridging the depression formed by the em'- bossment of said flrst named layer, 'and fastener receiving openings in said second layer spaced from said embossment.

7. A trim panel foundation consisting of a layer of relatively stii fibrous material embossed to secure ornamentation, means to substantially fill the hollow in said layer formed by the embossment of said layer, a second layer of relatively stifl fibrous material adherently secured to said rst named layer and retaining. said means in said hollow.

GEORGE E. GAGNIER.

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